Our Blog

Growth for All: Including the Poor in Strategies for Economic Growth

Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 14:31

Michael Castellano is a graduate student at The George Washington University, studying International Affairs and Development. He interned with Bankers without Borders® at Grameen Foundation during the spring of 2012. In the years following the global financial crisis, politicians and policymakers across the globe have harped on one cardinal goal: economic growth. Without a doubt, plans for growing the economy will dominate discussions in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. It seems as though we as a society have collectively determined that if only the economy would turn around,... Read More

The Power of Microbusiness

Monday, April 30, 2012 - 17:11

Shannon Maynard is the Director of Grameen Foundation’s skilled volunteer program, Bankers without Borders®. Maynard has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit management and volunteer mobilization. Before joining Grameen Foundation, she served as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, and managed strategic initiatives for federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service. One of the books that has been on my reading list for a while but I haven’t gotten to yet is The Coming Jobs War, by Gallup CEO Jim Clifton.  As a busy... Read More

A 21st Century Trifecta: Two Months at Grameen Foundation

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 16:50

Matt Inbusch worked as an intern for Grameen Foundation’s Marketing and Communications team during the spring of 2012. What a moment to come back from the field! After three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Peru, I briefly returned to my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, over the Christmas holiday, and then – probably a little too soon for my mother’s liking – bought a one-way ticket to Washington. I was fortunate to be offered an internship at Grameen Foundation’s headquarters, and jumped right into the day-to-day work of what I believe is one of the most innovative development... Read More

Why Skills Matter: The Importance of Cross-Sector Collaboration

Thursday, April 19, 2012 - 14:13

Rhia Bakshi is an international student from India currently living in Washington, DC. She will graduate from American University in May with a double major in international development and business studies. Her interests range from social entrepreneurship and innovation to youth development and the arts. Rhia previously worked with several D.C.-based nonprofits, including Ashoka and the International Labor Rights Forum, and currently serves as a volunteer with Bankers without Borders®, helping the team with communications and social media. Rhia Bakshi, a Bankers without Borders volunteer,... Read More

Falling in Love ... with Microfinance

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 14:31

Tânia Sousa works in the Microcredit unit within the Portuguese banking firm Millennium BCP, where she is responsible for marketing. A Portuguese native with more than 10 years of experience in the financial-services industry, Tânia studied economics, and has an advanced degree in marketing. She joined Bankers without Borders®, Grameen Foundation's skills-based volunteer initiative, in February 2012 and recently completed her first field project in Varanasi, India, with Grameen Foundation's Microsavings team. Tânia, who currently lives and works in Lisbon, hopes to continue volunteering with... Read More

Power for CKWs in Uganda

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 14:27

Chris Smith and Gillian Evans are a husband and wife team volunteering in Uganda with Grameen Foundation through our Bankers without Borders® volunteer initiative. As Strategy Manager, Chris is responsible for business planning and Grameen Foundation’s relationship with MTN Uganda.  Gillian is an Education Specialist, responsible for developing and applying training best practices in the field and helping build the training center of excellence in Uganda.  Chris and Gillian live in Kampala with their two children and will complete their one-year volunteer term on July 31.  You can read about... Read More

The Future is Now

Friday, March 30, 2012 - 14:40

Yolanda Walker is a South African living and working in the US. She is a graduate of Oberlin College, where she studied Economics. During her college career she studied International Business in France and Mandarin in China. Yolanda also lived in Ghana, where she volunteered at an orphanage. Most recently, Yolanda volunteered with Grameen Foundation’s Capital Markets team through our skills-based volunteer initiative, Bankers without Borders®. An associate at Capital Group Companies, an investment management company, Yolanda is based in California. Bankers without Borders volunteer Yolanda... Read More

Finding Your Calling as a Skillanthropist

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 17:02

Shannon Maynard is director of Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders initiative. In today’s dynamic world, the importance of volunteering – to both the recipient and the volunteer – cannot be exaggerated. Unfortunately, volunteering is often perceived as a form of charity or something that only the recipient benefits from. What is not emphasized enough is the fact that volunteers gain just as much from the experience. Lynda Barton took a sabbatical from her job with a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland to work with Grameen Foundation’s mobile health initiative in Ghana. Since... Read More

Everyone Can Offer Something

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 08:00

Emily Gordon is a graduate of Lehigh University, where she studied International Relations, Spanish, and Business. She spent a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina studying foreign relations and working with a human rights organization. Emily has worked with a variety of international non-profits, including interning with Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders® program in 2011. Emily Gordon’s experience as an intern with Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders® volunteer initiative showed her that “Everyone can offer something when it comes to making the world a better place."... Read More

Collaborating to improve productivity and the quality of life in Colombia

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 15:39

Mobile phones can transform the way rural farmers in developing countries get information to better manage their crops and animals. Today, Grameen Foundation announced a new collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide that will develop new mobile applications for rural farmers in Colombia. With these solutions, a smallholder farmer will be able to know the specific prices for his crops and the best weather conditions for planting and harvesting, without even having to leave his land. The pilot will start in Urabá and Santa Marta, areas that were hard hit by Colombia’s internal conflicts. Over the... Read More